Chen Shi'an had set out from Yunchuan on this trip, traveling through coastal cities along the eastern seaboard until he reached Yanjing.
Before he knew it, it was already August 22, with just over a week left before school started.
The bottleneck in his cultivation had loosened while he watched the sea. Everything he had seen and understood along the way, all his feelings and accumulated experience, were like a reservoir filled to the brim, waiting only for an outlet through which to pour forth and ascend.
Considering that this breakthrough might draw a lightning tribulation, Chen Shi'an had not chosen to enter seclusion along the way. Instead, he planned to return to Pure Dust Temple, the place where everything had begun.
The motorcycle roared to life once more, carrying the Taoist and Fat Cat, along with Little Bunny bouncing in the wind on the handlebars, Blue Fatty with his spinning Bamboo-Copter, and Little Sparrow flapping its wings. They headed southwest, speeding toward Yunchuan Province and those familiar, verdant mountains.
The clamor of the cities fell far behind them, replaced by increasingly distinct mountain silhouettes and the fresh fragrance of vegetation.
By the time the engine of [Listening to the Waves] echoed at the foot of the mountain where Pure Dust Temple stood, it was already dusk on August 24.
The mountains stretched in hazy vastness, evening mist gathering on all sides. The temple's familiar upturned eaves appeared and disappeared amid layer upon layer of lush summer greenery.
He pushed open the temple gate, which had remained ajar since his departure at Qingming. Its creak carried far through the quiet mountain forest.
Quite a few stubborn weeds had sprouted again between the courtyard's bluestone slabs. The old tree out front was still thick with leaves and branches, but his master